Title Examination Standards
Chapter 1, App.
Chapter 30. Marketable Record Title Act
§30.3. Unbroken Chain of Title of Record.

"An unbroken chain of title of record", within the meaning of the Marketable Record Title Act, may consist of (1) A single conveyance or other title transaction which purports to create an interest and which has been a matter of public record for at least thirty (30) years; or (2) A connected series of conveyances or other title transactions of public record in which the root of title has been a matter of public record for at least thirty (30) years.

Authority: 16 O.S. § 71(a) & (b); L. Simes & C. Taylor, Model Title Standards, Standard 4.3, at 25 (1960). Similar Standard: Mich., 1.3. Comment: Assume A is the grantee in a deed recorded in 1975 and that nothing affecting the described land has been recorded since then. In 2005 A has an "unbroken chain of title of record." Instead of a conveyance, the title transaction may be a decree of a district court or court of general jurisdiction, which was entered in the court records in 1975. Likewise, in 2005, A has an "unbroken chain of title of record." Instead of having only a single link, A's chain of title may contain two or more links. Thus, suppose X is the grantee in a deed recorded in 1975; and X conveyed to Y by deed recorded in 1985; Y conveyed to A by deed recorded in 2000. In 2005 A has an "unbroken chain of title of record." Any or all of these links may consist of decrees of a district court or court of general jurisdiction instead of deeds of conveyance. The significant time from which the thirty-year record title begins is not the delivery of the instrument, but the date of its recording. Suppose the deed to A is delivered in 1975 but recorded in 1985. A will not have an "unbroken chain of title of record" until 2015. Decrees of a court in a county other than where the land lies do not constitute a root of title until recorded in the county in which the land lies. For a definition of "root of title" see Marketable Record Title Act, 16 O.S. § 78(e).

History: Adopted December, 1964. Printed as a part of Proposal No. 12 of 1964 Real Property Committee 35 O.B.A.J. 2045, 2046 (1964) and see Exhibit H, id . at 2053. Approved, upon recommendation of Real Property Section, by House of Delegates, 36 O.B.A.J. 179, 182 (1965). As a result of a proposal of the 1970 Real Property Committee's Supplemental Report printed as Exhibit E, 41 O.B.A.J. 2676, 2678 (1970). Approved by the Real Property Section on December 3, 1970, and adopted by the House of Delegates on December 4, 1970, 42 O.B.A.J. 706 (1971), the last sentence of the standard shortening the period to thirty years was added. Pertinent statutory authority, relating to the amendment, has been added by the editor pursuant to the directive in the Committee's Supplemental Report, 41 O.B.A.J. 2676, 2679 (1970). All references to prior 40-year period deleted, 30 years substituted, and dates in "Comment" corrected to agree with 30-year period as per direction of House of Delegates, see Minutes of House for 1977, at 93-96.

The Title Examination Standards Sub-Committee recommended the Comments of Title Standards 30.3, 30.4, 30.5, 30.6, 30.7, 30.8, 30.9, and 30.10 be amended to make the current effect of the Marketable Record Title Act more apparent to examiners. The Real Property Law Section approved, November 18, 2010, and the House of Delegates adopted the proposal on November 19, 2010. (superseded document available)